*** Speaker Election Livewire *** Jim Jordan Looks to Lock Down Gavel

Matthew Boyle
Washington, DC

House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) sees the House Speaker’s gavel within reach, as the House GOP conference nominee for the speakership heads to the floor shortly after noon on Tuesday in an attempt to unify the GOP conference and end the chaos that started two weeks ago when now former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the position.

Jordan’s ascent to the top of the GOP conference has been a tumultuous ride for House Republicans, and he looks to lock down the requisite support on Tuesday to win the speaker’s gavel and unite the GOP conference again. After McCarthy’s ouster at the hands of 8 House Republicans who worked with all Democrats in the chamber to remove him, House Republicans then rallied behind House GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise as the conference nominee.

But Scalise’s poor showing in the conference vote–he got 113 votes, but since 3 were non-voting delegates from the territories it was really only 110 votes meaning he got less than a majority of the majority–led to him withdrawing from the speakership election a day later.

House Lawmakers Work Towards Electing New Speaker On Capitol Hill

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaks briefly to reporters as he departs a House Republican Caucus at the U.S. Capitol October 16, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty)

Jordan won the GOP conference nomination on Friday last week in a 124-81 vote when running against Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA). Scott has since endorsed him. Later on Friday, when Jordan was the conference nominee, Jordan expanded his support in a 152-55 vote when members were asked if they would support Jordan on the floor. Jordan spent the weekend and Monday flipping holdouts and rallying support but some members who are upset about what happened to McCarthy and Scalise remain holdouts.

Whether Jordan can get them on board for the first ballot, or subsequent ballots, remains to be seen–but the gavel is clearly within reach for him as the House reconvenes on Tuesday.

A big question for the holdouts is whether they want to be purveyors of the chaos they purport to oppose–not voting for Jordan at this stage is a vote for chaos and uncertainty. A vote for Jordan, conversely, is a vote for a return to governing and pursuing the House GOP agenda. Republicans, as such, face a major test on whether they are ready to lead the lower chamber of Congress after weeks of uncertainty.

With full attendance in the House, since there are two vacancies, Jordan would need 217 votes. At least one Jordan-supporting member will not be present at the first vote–Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) is attending a funeral on Tuesday–but will be back later in the day. Since there are 221 House Republicans, when Bilirakis returns that means Jordan can lose only four Republicans in his quest to win.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaks to reporters as House Republicans hold a caucus meeting at the Longworth House Office Building on October 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Win McNamee/Getty)

On the other side of the aisle, meanwhile, Democrats are seeking to cause chaos of their own. Their leader, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), in a last-ditch bid to stop Jordan from winning floated on Tuesday having Democrats work with Republicans to empower acting Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) with new powers.

That effort could backfire and throw more support to Jordan since it is unlikely any Republicans want to help Jeffries and Democrats gain power, but it is unclear at best how that shakes out.

Follow along here on Breitbart News for live updates on the speakership election as Jordan seeks to lock down the votes necessary for the position.

UPDATE 5:14 p.m. ET:

Now Jordan is saying the next vote will be Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. ET:

UPDATE 5:13 p.m. ET: 

Jordan has now officially flipped one of the 20 holdouts. Rep. Doug Lamalfa (R-CA) will vote for Jordan on the next ballot which is expected this evening.

UPDATE 4:33 p.m. ET:

Jordan is eyeing approximately 6 p.m. ET for the next vote, when Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL)–who has been absent due to a funeral–will return to the House. Bilirakis is expected to vote for Jordan.

UPDATE 4:31 p.m. ET:

While Scalise voted for Jordan on the floor, multiple sources familiar with the matter told Breitbart News that the House Majority Leader who failed in his own speakership bid last week is the leader of the subversion against the Republican conference and Speaker-designee Jim Jordan.

Scalise was asked to give a nominating speech for Jordan before the first vote and refused to do so:

What’s more, many of the people voting against Jordan are Scalise loyalists–people like Gonzales, Womack, Diaz-Balart, Rutherford, and more.

Scalise has similarly been asked to help engage members and whip votes for the party nominee and is refusing to do so.

Scalise’s office kind of pushed back on those reports for what it’s worth:

But again, if he really did care about helping the Republican conference, Scalise could agree to give a nominating speech for Jordan–and publicly call on those working against Jordan to stand down immediately. He continues to refuse to do that.

As such, there are growing numbers of House Republicans who are now openly discussing forcing a conference vote to remove Scalise as the House Majority Leader–which would be a brutal condemnation of the Louisianan. It is unclear if it will rise to that drastic step, but Scalise’s subversion against the Republican Party and against the House GOP conference has many top Republicans and conservatives fuming mad.

UPDATE 3:40 p.m. ET:

The full list of the 20 Republicans who voted against Jordan is available here on Breitbart News in a story that also contains all the members’ office phone numbers.

UPDATE 3:31 p.m. ET:

The word on Capitol Hill is that Scalise is trying to undermine Jordan:

UPDATE 2:44 p.m. ET:

Jordan’s team is signaling they will bring another vote very soon. “The House needs a speaker as soon as possible,” Jordan spokesman Russell Dye told Breitbart News. “Expect another round of votes today. It’s time for Republicans to come together.”

UPDATE 2:23 p.m. ET:

Some of the chaos caucus holdouts are digging in against Jordan:

It is extremely likely that people like Rutherford will face primary challenges if they do not come around.

Meanwhile, others like James of Michigan are signaling they might be open to backing Jordan on a future ballot:

UPDATE 2:17 p.m. ET:

Grassroots conservatives are furious with the 20 holdouts. If they don’t find a way to get to yes on Jordan, they may never recover with the base–and the party may be irreparably damaged by these people:

UPDATE 2:08 p.m. ET:

Lawler is signaling he might be open to changing his vote on a future ballot as well:

UPDATE 2:06 p.m. ET:

Jordan and his allies continue to work on the holdouts.
Lamalfa, for instance, has indicated he will flip on the next ballot:

Team Jordan meanwhile seems to want to chip away at the opposition piece by piece:

UPDATE 1:55 p.m. ET:

And right on cue, McHenry read the vote totals out and then pursuant to the rules package in place–that was not in place in January–declared the House in recess subject to the call of the chair.

UPDATE 1:54 p.m. ET:

The House is likely to recess now, as Breitbart News noted earlier, as Jordan rallies and works on moving the holdouts his way:

UPDATE 1:44 p.m. ET:

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) comes back and votes for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer for Speaker. He becomes the 17th holdout. Then Rep. John James (R-MI) votes for Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) and is the 18th holdout. Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) votes for Jordan–and Rep. Doug Lamalfa (R-CA) votes for McCarthy becoming holdout 19. Spartz then votes for Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) becoming holdout 20.

The final vote count is 200 for Jordan, 212 for Jeffries, and 20 for other candidates. Jordan will pick up Bilirakis when he comes back but this is a good first showing for Jordan. Most of the holdouts are appropriators.

UPDATE 1:40 p.m. ET:

Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR) becomes holdout 16 as he votes for Scalise.

UPDATE 1:35 p.m. ET:

Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) becomes holdout 15 as he votes for Scalise. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) does not vote when her name is called.

UPDATE 1:32 p.m. ET:

Loud applause among Republicans as Scalise votes for Jordan.

UPDATE 1:31 p.m. ET:

Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) votes for Scalise. He is the 14th holdout.

UPDATE 1:28 p.m. ET:

Democrats applaud when Pelosi votes for Jeffries and when Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) votes for Jeffries.

UPDATE 1:25 p.m. ET:

McHenry votes for Jordan–another sign of GOP unity behind the Ohio conservative.

UPDATE 1:24 p.m. ET:

McCarthy votes for Jordan sparking applause in the chamber from Republicans.

UPDATE 1:23 p.m. ET:

Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) goes for Jordan, another pickup for him–some were concerned he might not.

UPDATE 1:22 p.m. ET:

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY) becomes the 12th holdout when he votes for Zeldin, while Rep. Doug LaMalfa becomes the fourth member to note vote.

It’s worth noting Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) voted for Jordan, a big pickup for him.

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) becomes holdout 13 when he votes for McCarthy.

UPDATE 1:20 p.m. ET:

Rep. David Joyce (R-OH) missed his name too, the third GOP member not to vote when their name was called.

Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA), as expected, votes for Scalise and becomes the 10th holdout against Jordan. Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) becomes the 11th holdout when she votes for McCarthy.

UPDATE 1:18 p.m. ET:

As expected, Jordan is not going to get there on the first ballot–but he definitely is within striking distance on a future ballot.

Rep. John James (R-MI) misses his name getting called–so he might be someone to watch soon too.

Democrats erupt in applause when Jeffries votes for himself. Republicans do the same when Jordan votes for himself.

UPDATE 1:14 p.m. ET: 

Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) becomes the ninth Jordan holdout as she votes for Scalise too.

UPDATE 1:13 p.m. ET:

Eight Jordan holdouts now as Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) votes for McCarthy, as expected–and Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) votes for Scalise.

UPDATE 1:12 p.m. ET:

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY) votes for Zeldin too bringing the Jordan holdout total to six.

UPDATE 1:11 p.m. ET:

Rep. Jake Ellzey (R-TX) votes for Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA)–bringing the Jordan holdouts to five. Jordan is very unlikely to win this ballot but things are going mostly good for him to get there on a future ballot at this stage as most of the party is sticking with him.

UPDATE 1:08 p.m. ET:

Rep. Anthony D’Esposito (R-NY) votes for former Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY). Then Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) votes for House GOP Majority Leader Steve Scalise. That brings the number of defectors against Jordan to four with still more than half of the conference to go.

UPDATE 1:05 p.m. ET:

Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) is the second holdout against Jordan to vote for someone else and joins Bacon in voting for McCarthy.

UPDATE 1:03 p.m. ET:

Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO), one of the Jordan holdouts, does not vote when his name is called. Since he is at the beginning of the alphabetical roll call, he might be waiting to see how this shakes out and then deciding how he will vote at the end. Things are going mostly smoothly–except for Bacon–so far.

UPDATE 1:00 p.m. ET:

Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) is the first Jordan holdout and he votes for McCarthy.

UPDATE 12:59 p.m. ET:

The speakership election is beginning now as the clerk has begun calling the roll. The roll call goes in alphabetical order.

UPDATE 12:55 p.m. ET:

In another good sign for Jordan, none of his holdouts nominated an alternative candidate for Speaker after Jordan and Jeffries were nominated by their respective conferences.

UPDATE 12:51 p.m. ET:

Aguilar is attacking Jordan over January 6:

UPDATE 12:48 p.m. ET:

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the Democrat conference chair, is introducing House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the Democrat candidate for Speaker.

UPDATE 12:46 p.m. ET:

The speakership election is beginning now, and House GOP conference chairwoman Elise Stefanik is introducing Jordan as the GOP candidate.

UPDATE 12:38 p.m. ET:

Another break Jordan’s way as Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) says he will vote for Jordan:

All the momentum seems to be with Jordan. Whether he can seal the deal remains to be seen.

UPDATE 12:28 p.m. ET:

One key difference between January’s chaotic process and now is that since the House has adopted a rules package and all members were sworn–and it has an acting Speaker pro tempore in McHenry–is that the House can gavel in and out at times most convenient for the GOP majority. That’s an inherent advantage for Jordan here, as if he does not make it–as expected–on the first ballot, he can gavel the House out and work on the holdouts behind closed doors rather than continuing to have to keep voting until the House has majority support for adjournment.

In January, since there was no rules package adopted until McCarthy was elected Speaker, the House had only two options: vote for Speaker or vote to adjourn. To adjourn, they needed majority support. As such, there were probably more ballots than they absolutely needed to have as McCarthy holdouts then refused to give the votes to adjourn at key junctures. Here, holdouts do not have that piece of leverage–and Jordan has the advantage and can only take votes whenever he increases his total. How Jordan manages this will be critical if the process goes multiple ballots as expected, and it could make or break his chances in future voting rounds. He has to keep showing movement his way.

UPDATE 12:20 p.m. ET:

Jordan just got another break his way as now Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) will vote for him:

Miller-Meeks had suggested on Monday evening she was a no vote, so this is a big break for Jordan.

UPDATE 12:19 p.m. ET:

Spotted in the back of the House chamber scheming together are Hakeem Jeffries and Nancy Pelosi, the current and former leaders of the Democrats:

UPDATE 12:13 p.m. ET:

Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ) has decided to back Jordan now, another critical pickup for the Ohio conservative:

UPDATE 12:10 p.m. ET:

The vote on the quorum call is happening now, and with Bilirakis’s expected absence and full Democrat attendance there is an expectation there will be 220 Republicans and 212 Democrats there for this.

UPDATE 12:04 p.m. ET:

McHenry gaveled in the House and the chaplain is offering a prayer. The first vote, upcoming soon, will be a quorum call to determine attendance. Then, shortly thereafter, the House speakership election process will begin.

UPDATE 12:00 p.m. ET:

Jordan, too, is saying he is prepared to go as many ballots as it takes to get the speakership locked down:

UPDATE 11:59 a.m. ET:

House Freedom Caucus chairman Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) is likewise predicting multiple ballots to get there for Jordan:

UPDATE 11:56 a.m. ET:

Bradley Jaye, Breitbart News’s Capitol Hill correspondent, has this dispatch filed from the Capitol as Jordan and House Republicans expect possibly to go multiple ballots:

UPDATE 11:54 a.m. ET:

Former President Donald Trump, who has endorsed Jordan for the job, believes Jordan will get the votes to get the gavel:

UPDATE 11:52 a.m. ET:

Jordan says he is “feeling good” ahead of the vote:

UPDATE 11:49 a.m. ET:

McCarthy for his part is firmly behind Jordan, and is very clearly publicly predicting that Jordan will win eventually no matter how many ballots it takes:

UPDATE 11:48 a.m. ET:

One of the big stories here is that Jordan has incredible support from the grassroots across America–and as Breitbart News reported on Monday night they are quite literally “melting” phone lines down calling in to their members of Congress supporting Jordan:

UPDATE 11:44 a.m. ET:

Democrats are likely to try to use this process to play games on Tuesday, just like they did in January:

There are reports, too, that Democrats are trying to gain more power even though they are in the minority:

Whether Democrats are successful or not depends on how unified Republicans are.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.